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The seven most innovative development projects – and policies – in the country

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The BLVD in Lancaster, California is one of seven communities being honored this year by the EPA. Photo by Charlie Essers via Flickr.

What do a boulevard in California, a Denver neighborhood, new zoning ordinances in Virginia and an organic food co-op in Vermont all have in common?

They are all being honored with the 2012 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Office of Sustainable Communities. The seven winning communities – including four winners and three honorable mentions – were announced this morning.

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Support America's neighborhoods this #GivingTuesday

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If you’ve ever walked to the store, you know the benefit of smart growth strategies. If you’ve ever taken your son or daughter to the neighborhood park, you know the benefits of smart growth strategies. If you’ve shopped on Main Street, taken transit to work, ridden in a bicycle lane or used a crosswalk, you know the benefits of smart growth strategies.

We need your support to continue making these places a reality. Smart Growth America works every day to create great places and strong local economies. With your help we can build on the incredible successes of 2012 and make cities, towns and neighborhoods across the country even better in 2013.

Donating today, in particular, is important. Today is Giving Tuesday – a national day of giving at the start of the holiday season. Donate today and join thousands of people demonstrating their support for the issues they care about most.

Help us build places where families and businesses can thrive: donate to Smart Growth America today.

Thank you.

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Partnership in the News: Rhode Island taking steps towards statewide economic plan

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On November 9, Governor of Rhode Island Lincoln D. Chaffee announced a multi-agency effort to develop an integrated and statewide approach to economic development. Funded by a Regional Planning grant from the U.S. Office of Housing and Urban Development, the project will assess the state’s economic assets and situation to plan for future development.

“I agree with all Rhode Islanders that we need to take steps to improve the economic climate of the state. In 90 days we will have data analysis that we will use to inform decisions to use our assets wisely, prioritize our ideas and focus our resources in specific areas where we can make a real difference,” said Governor Chafee.

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Smart Growth Stories: A region collaborates in Southern Maine

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Balancing development with environmental and economic concerns is one of the biggest challenges facing Southern Maine today.

“Maine has a lot going for it: its sense of place, its scenery, its quality of life,” says Carol Morris, President of Morris Communications and lead consultant for Sustain Southern Maine, a regional partnership of organizations, communities and businesses working to make Maine’s economy, environment and sense of community stronger. “If we lose that, we’ll never get it back, and people understand that, so there’s a fair amount of local support for balancing it all together.”

Sustain Southern Maine is addressing these important challenges with a multi-faceted, comprehensive approach to planning. Aided by a Regional Planning grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the partnership is working to make sure development in small, rural communities as well as larger urban areas like Portland – Maine’s biggest city – will benefit the communities and economies of the entire region.

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Partnership in the News: Cincinnati approves comprehensive plan for city

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Last month, the Cincinnati City Planning Commission approved Plan Cincinnati, a comprehensive, community-based approach to future development. Part of this plan was funded by a multi-million dollar HUD Community Challenge grant intended to help the city to streamline its land use codes, facilitating future development.

The Plan is an opportunity to strengthen what people love about the city, what works and what needs more attention, says Katherine Keough-Jurs, senior city planner and project manager.

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Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick introduces new workforce housing initiatives, adopts GICD recommendations

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The following is crossposted from the Governors’ Institute on Community Design.

In July 2012, the Governors’ Institute on Community Design met with Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and his Administration to identify policies and tool to meet the State’s housing needs. Last week, Governor Patrick announced an ambitious housing policy initiative that builds on those strategies.

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Walkability increasingly drives developers and real estate market

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What makes a town or city desirable? What makes a neighborhood a great place to raise a family or start a new job? And what characteristics drive local economic growth and drive the real estate market? It all starts with walkability, according to a recent Washington Post story. A Texas native, Rogers put a premium … Continued

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Upcoming webinar: "The Innovative DOT" with the Federal Highway Administration

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State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) have ambitious goals: improve safety, reduce congestion, enhance economic opportunity, improve reliability, preserve system assets, accelerate project delivery, and help to create healthier, more livable neighborhoods, just to name a few. These goals would be challenging even if money were no object, but dwindling conventional federal and state transportation funding makes these goals even harder to achieve.

The Innovative DOT: A handbook of policy and practice, published earlier this year by Smart Growth America and the State Smart Transportation Initiative, lays out 31 tools transportation officials can use as they position their agencies for success in the new economy.

On December 12, from 3:00-4:30 PM EST, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will host a webinar about the report and its recommendations. FHWA is partnering with the Project for Public Spaces and INDUS Corporation to present this free event.

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Speak out to renew the federal Brownfields Tax Incentive

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Developers working to clean-up and redevelop brownfields could soon lose a major federal aid – unless advocates work together to save it.

Originally signed into law in 1997 and extended through December 31, 2011, Section 198’s Brownfields Tax Incentive is a tax deduction intended to encourage the cleanup and revitalization of brownfield properties. Under the incentive environmental cleanup costs are fully deductible in the year incurred, rather than capitalized and spread over time. Improvements in 2006 expanded the Incentive to include petroleum cleanup.

The incentive is scheduled to expire at the end of the year, but there’s a chance to save it. The National Brownfields Coalition is asking Congress to extend the Incentive as part of the Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012, more commonly known as the “tax extenders” bill.

Join the call to make brownfields cleanup easier: send a letter to your members of Congress today.

The Incentive is already helping towns put contaminated land back in to productive reuse. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for example, the Incentive helped make possible the redevelopment of a former industrial site in the city’s historic Martin Luther King Drive Business Improvement District. The site is now home to new commercial and residential space, and has greatly added momentum to efforts within the Business Improvement District.

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